\u201cWhen I first watched La Cage<\/em> in London in 1987, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time,\u201d Glen reveals over a latte at a caf\u00e9 in Great World City. \u201cPartly because it was such a good production, but I was also nervous because I had no idea how my staunchly Christian mother would react to it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n La Cage Aux Folles<\/em> tells the story of George and Albin, a loving gay couple who must pretend to be something they\u2019re not when their son brings home the daughter of an ultra-conservative politician. Its cross-dressing quotient, shall we say, is considerably higher than average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And yet, Glen\u2019s mother managed to surprise him, her response demonstrating just how special La Cage Aux Folles<\/em> is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe loved it!\u201d he recalls, with a touch of wonder in his voice. \u201cIn fact, she asked me to take her to see it again before she left London. So we saw the show twice in two days!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He attributes La Cage Aux Folles\u2019<\/em> enduring appeal to its enormous heart and timeless message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just about drag queens and sequins and feather boas,\u201d he points out. \u201cIt\u2019s about love, acceptance, tolerance, diversity and family. It\u2019s about being non-judgmental. It\u2019s what theatre and the arts are all about!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2012, W!LD RICE\u2019s La Cage Aux Folles<\/em> played out against the backdrop of a raging debate over repealing Section 377A, a law that criminalises homosexuality in Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, Glen expects La Cage Aux Folles<\/em> to resonate with audiences for an entirely different reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFrom Trump to Brexit, you can observe the rise of populism and conservatism all around the world,\u201d he says soberly. \u201cSingapore is no exception: when people lose their jobs and they have to fight for survival, they become more conservative. They\u2019re less willing to embrace change and difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s why we thought it was important to stage La Cage<\/em> now,\u201d he says. \u201cBecause its message of embracing diversity is especially relevant in the world we\u2019re living in today.\u201d .<\/p>\n\n\n\n To this end, the 2017 iteration of La Cage Aux Folles<\/em> will be completely reimagined. Glen is hoping to create a stripped-down but no less fabulous production, one that speaks directly to a Singaporean audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It helps that the show will be staged at the Victoria Theatre, which seats just over 600 people \u2013 approximately a third of the capacity of the Esplanade Theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a smaller, more intimate stage, which will help draw the actors and audiences closer together,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt\u2019s more conducive to making this production as local as possible, and even more Singaporean than before. We want our audiences to really feel at home in the theatre!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n All in all, Glen is confident that audiences will enjoy themselves immensely at La Cage Aux Folles<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAfter all, it has an excellent pedigree,\u201d he points out. \u201cThe show has won Tony and Olivier Awards; and it was created by two Broadway greats, Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd if I may say so myself,\u201d he adds with a cheeky grin. \u201cOur production will knock you out! We have an incredible cast led by Ivan Heng, Sean Ghazi and Hossan Leong, as well as a top-notch creative team featuring Singapore\u2019s best theatre-makers. You are guaranteed a great night out at the theatre!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What\u2019s new about W!LD RICE\u2019s upcoming production of La Cage Aux Folles? Director Glen Goei explains his love for this classic musical, and how it has again become relevant for the times we live in. – By Reginald Kent & Shawne Wang<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":26226,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[45,247,266,267],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26225"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/newsletter\/NL40\/01B.jpg\")
Glen took to the streets in drag with BFF Ivan Heng!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n